Retro Game-Boy (and game cassettes)

A fun walk down memory lane with a modern tech twist! I recently wrapped up this personal project reimagining the iconic Nintendo Game Boy and its classic cartridges.
This piece was a fantastic opportunity to push my hard-surface modeling while experimenting with a hybrid workflow:
Modeling & Scene Assembly: Built entirely in Autodesk Maya, focusing on capturing the precise tactile details of the console and the cartridge casings.
Shading & Rendering: Rendered using Arnold to capture realistic plastic textures, warm wood grain reflections, and subtle glass refractions.
The AI Experiment: For the burning skull artwork featured in the background photo frame, I stepped into generative tech and used Meshy AI to create a unique 3D asset, blending traditional pipelines with AI asset generation.
Swipe through the renders to see the full breakdown:
1: The hero shot establishing the overall mood and composition.
2: A tighter look at the interaction between the console and the AI-generated frame artwork.
3: A detailed macro shot highlighting the textures on the classic cartridges (who remembers having to blow into these to make them work? 🙋‍♂️).